The Environmental Protection Agency requires every drinking water provider in the United States that serves at least 25 people or connects to at least 15 buildings to create an Annual Water Quality Report (AWQR). Water providers must deliver a copy via mail or email to each bill-paying customer by May 31st each year. If a water provider serves over 100,000 people, they are also required to post the AWQR on the internet.
What is included in an Annual Water Quality Report?
While not all AWQRs are structured exactly the same way, the New York Department of Health does offer a template that many communities use. All AWQRs are required to include certain information:
What is included in an Annual Water Quality Report?
While not all AWQRs are structured exactly the same way, the New York Department of Health does offer a template that many communities use. All AWQRs are required to include certain information:
Introduction
This section will tell you whether your drinking water had any violations of water quality standards in the past year. It will also provide the contact information for your water provider, so you can reach out with any questions about your report.
Where does our water come from?
In this section, you can find:
- The number of people served by your water provider
- Whether you are served primarily by groundwater, surface water, or a mix of the two, plus the names of specific waterbodies and reservoirs that provide your supply
- How your drinking water is treated to ensure it is safe for drinking
- Whether your water supply is susceptible to contamination, based on the system’s source water assessment
- Information about how to access your system’s source water assessment (more on this below)
- For systems that have a large proportion of non-English speaking residents: key information in the appropriate language
The source water assessment can provide valuable information about potential sources of contamination in your water supply. However, not all water systems have completed these assessments and there is no requirement that they are periodically updated. If your system has not been assessed, or has not been accessed recently, you can ask your water provider or municipality to participate in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Drinking Water Source Protection Program.
Are there contaminants in our drinking water?
This is probably the most complicated part of your report. It typically consists of at least one table that includes water quality monitoring data. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires water providers to regularly monitor their treated drinking water (finished water). For certain contaminants, monitoring is done at the end of the treatment plant, and for others, it is done in the drinking water distribution system (the pipes that carry water from the plant to your home). There are over 90 contaminants with drinking water standards regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency and three additional regulated by New York State (PFOA, PFOS and 1,4-dioxane). Any of these that were detected in your finished water must be shown in your report.
Interpreting Your Water Quality Data
Your report is required to include:
Your report is required to include:
- The name of the contaminant detected
- The level detected - how much of each contaminant was found in your water
- The units of measurement for each contaminant, i.e. milligrams per liter (mg/L), micrograms per liter (ug/L), or some other unit
- The MCL: The maximum contaminant level (MCL) is the amount of a contaminant legally allowed in finished drinking water and it is different for each contaminant.
- The MCLG: The maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) is the level of a contaminant that is determined by the EPA to be unlikely to result in significant negative health effects for most people. When making a drinking water standard, the EPA first creates the MCLG, and then the MCL is formulated based on both the MCLG toxicity data and the feasibility of implementing the standard (i.e., is it realistic for most treatment plants to reach this level of compliance). The MCLG is not a legally enforceable standard.
- Data from the most recent year tested
- Whether there was a violation of the MCL
- Whether the contaminant is regulated via an MCL, TT (Treatment Technique), or AL (Action Level). Not all contaminants have their own MCL; some require the use of a particular treatment technology to ensure reduction to safe levels (TT). Lead and copper are regulated via an Action Level (AL), which means that if the level of lead or copper in the distribution system is above the AL, the water provider must act to reduce it.
Snapshot of a water quality report from New York City, 2024
It may also include:
- The yearly average for each contaminant
- The range of levels detected over the course of the year for each contaminant
- Health information
- Source of contaminant information
This section will also tell customers whether their water provider has participated in any unregulated contaminant monitoring that year. The EPA regularly enlists water providers to conduct unregulated contaminant monitoring to better understand the occurrence and levels of contaminants it is considering developing new MCLs for in the future.
Your report will also include a list of definitions to help you understand all of this jargon.
Your report will also include a list of definitions to help you understand all of this jargon.
What does this information mean?
Your water provider is also required to help you understand the data being presented. There should be an explanation of the water quality data and potential adverse health effects.
Is your water provider in compliance?
Your water provider is required to alert you to any violations and whether they are in compliance with all safe drinking water laws and regulations. They may provide information on specific contaminants that the system has detected or had violations on in the past, whether you need to take any special precautions, and whether the system is adding fluoride.
Additional information
Your water provider is also required to tell you if it has made any improvements to its water treatment system or infrastructure, and include a discussion of water conservation measures available to customers.
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